Sensor for dispensing system

ABSTRACT

Among other things, one or more systems and/or techniques for improving performance of a dispensing system are provided herein. The dispensing system may comprise an emitter and a detector. The emitter may be configured to transmit light (e.g., and/or one or more other signals). The detector may be configured to measure light, for example. The detector may determine a first measurement of light while the emitter is not transmitting light. The detector may determine a second measurement of light responsive to the emitter transmitting light. The detector may determine a third measurement of light based upon a comparison of the first measurement of light with the second measurement of light. The detector may be direct current (DC) coupled while determining the third measurement of light.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application claims priority to and is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 15/503,474, titled “SENSOR FOR DISPENSING SYSTEM”and filed on Feb. 13, 2017, which is a National Stage Entry ofPCT/US2015/045053, titled “SENSOR FOR DISPENSING SYSTEM” and filed onAug. 13, 2015, which is a non-provisional filing of and claims priorityto U.S. Provisional Application 62/036,711, titled “SENSOR FORDISPENSING SYSTEM” and filed on Aug. 13, 2014. U.S. application Ser. No.15/503,474, PCT/US2015/045053, and U.S. Provisional Application62/036,711 are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The instant application is generally directed towards a dispensingsystem for dispensing a material, such as a liquid, powder, aerosol, orother types of materials. For example, the instant application isdirected to a sensor, for a dispensing system, that utilizes light fortriggering the dispensing system.

BACKGROUND

Many locations, such as hospitals, factories, restaurants, homes, etc.,utilize dispensing systems to dispense material. For example, adispensing system may dispense a liquid material, powder material,aerosol material, and/or other materials (e.g., soap, anti-bacterialgels, cleansers, disinfectants, lotions, etc.). Some dispensing systemsutilize a sensor to determine when to dispense material.

SUMMARY

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the detaileddescription. This summary is not intended to identify key factors oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

Among other things, one or more systems and/or techniques for improvingperformance of a (e.g., dispensing) system are provided herein. In someembodiments, the system may comprise an emitter. The emitter may beconfigured to transmit light (e.g., and/or one or more other signals).In some embodiments, the system may comprise a detector. The detectormay be configured to measure light, for example. The detector maydetermine a first measurement of light while the emitter is nottransmitting light. The detector may be alternating current (AC) coupledwhile determining the first measurement of light. The detector maydetermine a second measurement of light responsive to the emittertransmitting light. The detector may be AC coupled while determining thesecond measurement of light. The detector may determine a thirdmeasurement of light based upon a comparison of the first measurement oflight with the second measurement of light. For example, when thecomparison indicates that a difference between the first measurement oflight and the second measurement of light is less than a threshold, thethird measurement of light may be determined. It may be appreciated thatthe comparison may indicate a probability that the detector is unable todiscern light transmitted from the emitter from ambient light. Thedetector may be direct current (DC) coupled while determining the thirdmeasurement of light.

The following description and annexed drawings set forth certainillustrative aspects and implementations. These are indicative of but afew of the various ways in which one or more aspects can be employed.Other aspects, advantages, and novel features of the disclosure willbecome apparent from the following detailed description when consideredin conjunction with the annexed drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a component block diagram illustrating a dispensing system,according to some embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a component block diagram illustrating a dispensing system,according to some embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a component block diagram illustrating a dispensing system,according to some embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a component block diagram illustrating a dispensing system,according to some embodiments.

FIG. 5 is a component block diagram illustrating a dispensing system,according to some embodiments.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of determiningmeasurements using a detector, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 7 is an illustration of an example computer-readable medium whereinprocessor-executable instructions configured to embody one or more ofthe provisions set forth herein may be comprised.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The claimed subject matter is now described with reference to thedrawings, wherein like reference numerals are generally used to refer tolike elements throughout. In the following description, for purposes ofexplanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to providean understanding of the claimed subject matter. It is evident, however,that the claimed subject matter can be practiced without these specificdetails. In other instances, structures and devices are illustrated inblock diagram form in order to facilitate describing the claimed subjectmatter.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a dispensing system 100 for dispensinga material. The dispensing system 100 may comprise a housing 102configured to hold a detector 104 and an emitter 106. The detector 104and the emitter 106 may, in combination, operate as a sensor todetermine when to perform a dispense event. For example, the emitter 106may be configured to transmit light, and the detector 104 may beconfigured to detect at least some of the light transmitted by theemitter 106. The light may be transmitted at a first frequency (e.g.,the emitter 106 may transmit light every 50 microseconds). When thedetector 104 detects at least some of the light transmitted by theemitter 106 (e.g., within a threshold amount of time), a determinationmay be made that a dispense event does not need to be performed. Whenthe detector 104 does not detect at least some of the light transmittedby the emitter 106 (e.g., within the threshold amount of time), thedispense event may be performed. The detector 104 may not detect atleast some of the light transmitted by the emitter 106 due to a hand 150(e.g., or other body part of a user) blocking the light transmitted fromthe emitter 106 and thereby blocking the light transmitted from theemitter 106 from reaching the detector 104. The dispense event maycomprise dispensing material via a dispenser nozzle 108 of thedispensing system 100 (e.g., onto the hand 150).

The housing 102 may comprise various mechanical and/or electricalcomponents that facilitate operation of the dispensing system 100, suchas one or more components that dispense material. For example, thehousing 102 may comprise a motor and/or a gear train used to dispensematerial during the dispense event. During the dispense event, thedispenser nozzle 108, the motor, the gear train, and/or other componentsmay dispense material, where any one or more of which may be powered, atleast in part, by a traditional power source (e.g., power from an outletor a battery) and/or by thermal energy harvested from a user.

It may be appreciated that in some embodiments, the detector 104 may notbe able to detect at least some of the light transmitted by the emitter106, even if the hand 150 does not block the light transmitted from theemitter 106 from reaching the detector 104. For example, if ambientlight (e.g., sunlight, light from a nearby light bulb, etc.) shines onthe detector 104, one or more photodiodes of the detector 104 may becomesaturated and/or the detector 104 may become unable to detect at leastsome of the light transmitted by the emitter 106. It may be appreciatedthat in some embodiments, the inability of the detector 104 to detect atleast some of the light transmitted by the emitter 106 may cause thedispense event to be performed when the dispense event may not bedesired. For example, the dispense event may be performed even thoughthe hand 150 is not located near the dispenser nozzle 108, which maycause the dispenser nozzle 108 to dispense material on the housing 102and/or on the detector 104. The performance of the dispense event due toa “false positive” caused by the inability of the detector 104 to detectat least some of the light transmitted by the emitter 106 may bewasteful (e.g., of material) as well as inconvenient (e.g., messy), andtherefore may be undesirable.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of an implementation of the dispensingsystem 100 which may be used to determine whether the detector 104 isable or unable to discern light transmitted from the emitter 106 fromambient light. As in FIG. 1, the dispensing system 100 may comprise thehousing 102, the detector 104, the emitter 106 and the dispenser nozzle108. The dispensing system 100 may also comprise a power supply 204. Thedetector 104 may be coupled to the power supply 204. In someembodiments, the detector 104 may be connected to the power supply 204via an analog-to-digital converter (ADC). The detector 104 may bealternating current (AC) coupled 202. The detector 104 may determine afirst measurement of light. The first measurement of light may bedetermined while the emitter 106 is not transmitting light. The firstmeasurement of light may be determined while the detector 104 is ACcoupled 202.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of an implementation of the dispensingsystem 100 which may be used to determine whether the detector 104 isable or unable to discern light transmitted from the emitter 106 fromambient light. As in FIG. 2, the dispensing system 100 may comprise thehousing 102, the detector 104, the emitter 106, the dispenser nozzle 108and the power supply 204. The emitter 106 may transmit light 302. Thedetector 104 may determine a second measurement of light. The secondmeasurement of light may be determined responsive to the emitter 106transmitting the light 302. The second measurement of light may bedetermined while the detector 104 is AC coupled 202.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of an implementation of the dispensingsystem 100 which may be used to determine whether the detector 104 isable or unable to discern light transmitted from the emitter 106 fromambient light. As in FIG. 3, the dispensing system 100 may comprise thehousing 102, the detector 104, the emitter 106, the dispenser nozzle 108and the power supply 204. The detector 104 may determine a thirdmeasurement of light. The third measurement of light may be determinedwhile the emitter 106 is not transmitting light. Alternatively, thethird measurement of light may be determined responsive to the emitter106 transmitting light. The third measurement of light may be determinedwhile the detector 104 is direct current (DC) coupled 402.

The third measurement of light may be determined based upon a comparisonof the first measurement of light with the second measurement of light.For example, the third measurement of light may be determined when thecomparison indicates that a difference between the first measurement oflight and the second measurement of light is less than a threshold. Inanother example, if the comparison indicates that the difference betweenthe first measurement of light and the second measurement of lightexceeds the threshold, the third measurement of light may not bedetermined.

It may be appreciated that the comparison may indicate that aprobability that the detector 104 is unable to discern light transmittedfrom the emitter 106 from ambient light may exceed a probabilitythreshold, for example, if the comparison indicates that a differencebetween the first measurement of light and the second measurement oflight is less than the threshold. Based on this possible inability todiscern light transmitted from the emitter 106 from ambient light, thethird measurement may be determined to be useful. For example, the thirdmeasurement may be used to determine with greater accuracy and/orconfidence whether the detector 104 is likely to be unable to discernlight transmitted from the emitter 106 from ambient light. Thecomparison may indicate that the probability that the detector 104 isunable to discern light transmitted from the emitter 106 from ambientlight may be less than the probability threshold, for example, if thecomparison indicates that the difference between the first measurementof light and the second measurement of light exceeds the threshold. Whenthe probability that the detector 104 is unable to discern lighttransmitted from the emitter 106 from ambient light is less than theprobability threshold, the third measurement of light may be determinedto be unnecessary, and may therefore not be determined (e.g., toconserve power, etc.), for example.

Once the third measurement of light is determined, a (e.g., conclusive)determination may be made as to whether the detector 104 is able orunable to discern light transmitted from the emitter 106 from ambientlight. For example, the third measurement may be used to determine if anabsence of an (e.g., expected) signal associated with the detector 104is due to saturation of the detector 104 with the ambient light. In someexamples, the third measurement of light may indicate that the ambientlight exceeds a brightness threshold. Responsive to the thirdmeasurement of light indicating that the ambient light exceeds thebrightness threshold, a determination may be made that the detector 104is (e.g., probably) unable to discern light transmitted from the emitter106 from ambient light. As a result, the dispensing system 100 maydisable performance of one or more dispense events (e.g., for a setperiod of time, until a determination is made that the detector 104 isable to discern light transmitted from the emitter 106 from ambientlight, etc.). Responsive to the third measurement of light indicatingthat the ambient light does not exceed the brightness threshold, adetermination may be made that the detector 104 is (e.g., probably) ableto discern light transmitted from the emitter 106 from ambient light. Asa result, the dispensing system 100 may not disable performance of oneor more dispense events.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a dispensing system 500. The system 500may comprise the detector 104, the power supply 204, a controller 502,an AC coupling component 518, a resistor 504, a voltage source 506, acapacitor 508, a resistor 510, a voltage source 512, a diode 514 and/ora motor 516. The controller 502 may be associated with the detector 104.The controller 502 may comprise a microcontroller. The controller 502may comprise one or more pins, which may comprise pin1, pin2, pin3and/or pin4.

Pin1 of the controller 502 may be connected to the AC coupling component518. The AC coupling component 518 may comprise the resistor 504, thevoltage source 506, the capacitor 508, the resistor 510 and/or thevoltage source 512. Pin1 of the controller 502 may be connected to theresister 504 and/or the capacitor 508. The resistor 504 may be connectedto the voltage source 506 and/or the capacitor 508. The voltage source506 may be ground. The capacitor 508 may be connected to the resistor510 and/or the diode 514. The resistor 510 may be connected to thevoltage source 512 and/or the diode 514. The voltage source 512 may beground. The diode 514 may be connected to the power supply 204. In someembodiments, the diode 514 may serve as the detector 104. In someembodiments, when the diode 514 serves as the detector 104, the diode514 may be connected to the power supply 204 via an ADC. It may beappreciated that the connection of pin1 of the controller 502 to thepower supply 204 via and/or in association with the AC couplingcomponent 518 may provide for an AC coupling (e.g., of the controller502 and/or the detector 104). It may be appreciated that the connectionof pin1 of the controller 502 to the power supply 204 via and/or inassociation with the resistor 504, the voltage source 506, the capacitor508, the resistor 510, the voltage source 512 and/or the diode 514 mayprovide for an AC coupling (e.g., of the controller 502 and/or thedetector 104).

Pin2 of the controller 502 may be connected to the diode 514, thecapacitor 508 and/or the resistor 510. The diode 514 may be connected tothe power supply 204. It may be appreciated that the connection of pin2of the controller 502 to the power supply 204 via and/or in associationwith the diode 514 may provide for a DC coupling (e.g., of thecontroller 502 and/or the detector 104).

Pin3 of the controller 502 may be connected to the detector 104. Pin4 ofthe controller 502 may be connected to the motor 516. The detector 104may be connected to the motor 516. In some embodiments, Pin3 may beconnected to (e.g., drive) the emitter 106 (e.g., rather than thedetector 104). The emitter 106 may or may not be connected to the motor516. It may be appreciated that in some examples, when the firstmeasurement of light is determined (e.g., as discussed in associationwith FIG. 2) and/or when the second measurement of light is determined(e.g., as discussed in association with FIG. 3), Pin1 of the controller502 may be used to AC couple the controller 502 and/or the detector 104.It may be appreciated that in some examples, when the third measurementof light is determined (e.g., as discussed in association with FIG. 4),Pin2 of the controller 502 may be used to DC couple the controller 502and/or the detector 104. In some examples, when Pin1 is used, Pin2 maynot be used. In some examples, when Pin2 is used, Pin1 may not be used.In some examples, Pin1 and Pin2 may be used concurrently. The motor 516may be used to dispense material during a dispense event.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a method 600. The method 600 starts at602. At 604, a first measurement of light may be determined. The firstmeasurement of light may be determined while an emitter is nottransmitting light. The first measurement of light may be determinedusing a detector. The first measurement of light may be determined whilethe detector is AC coupled. At 606, a second measurement of light may bedetermined. The second measurement of light may be determined responsiveto the emitter transmitting light. For example, the second measurementof light may be determined while the emitter is transmitting light, andnot while the emitter is not transmitting light. The second measurementof light may be determined using the detector. The second measurement oflight may be determined while the detector is AC coupled. It may beappreciated that the first measurement of light may be determined beforethe second measurement of light is determined.

At 608, a third measurement of light may be determined. The thirdmeasurement of light may be determined based upon a comparison of thefirst measurement of light with the second measurement of light. Forexample, the third measurement of light may be determined when thecomparison indicates that a difference between the first measurement oflight and the second measurement of light is less than a threshold. Inanother example, if the comparison indicates that the difference betweenthe first measurement of light and the second measurement of lightexceeds the threshold, the third measurement of light may not bedetermined. The third measurement of light may be determined using thedetector. The third measurement of light may be determined while thedetector is DC coupled. It may be appreciated that the secondmeasurement of light may be determined before the third measurement oflight is determined. It may further be appreciated that the firstmeasurement of light may be determined before the third measurement oflight is determined. The method 600 ends at 610.

It may be appreciated that a transfer of signals of a device may dependon whether the device is AC coupled or DC coupled. For example, if adevice is AC coupled, the device may be associated with a transfer of(e.g., merely) AC signals (e.g., and not DC signals). In anotherexample, if the device is DC coupled, the device may be associated witha transfer of AC signals and/or DC signals.

Still another embodiment involves a computer-readable medium comprisingprocessor-executable instructions configured to implement one or more ofthe techniques presented herein. An example embodiment of acomputer-readable medium or a computer-readable device that is devisedin these ways is illustrated in FIG. 7, wherein the implementation 700comprises a computer-readable medium 708, such as a CD-R, DVD-R, flashdrive, a platter of a hard disk drive, etc., on which is encodedcomputer-readable data 706. This computer-readable data 706, such asbinary data comprising at least one of a zero or a one, in turncomprises a set of computer instructions 704 configured to operateaccording to one or more of the principles set forth herein. In someembodiments, the processor-executable computer instructions 704 areconfigured to perform a method 702, such as at least some of theexemplary method 600 of FIG. 6, for example. In some embodiments, theprocessor-executable instructions 704 are configured to implement asystem, such as at least some of the exemplary system 100 of FIG. 1, atleast some of the exemplary system 200 of FIG. 2, at least some of theexemplary system 300 of FIG. 3, at least some of the exemplary system400 of FIG. 4 and/or at least some of the exemplary system 500 of FIG.5, for example. Many such computer-readable media are devised by thoseof ordinary skill in the art that are configured to operate inaccordance with the techniques presented herein.

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific tostructural features or methodological acts, it is to be understood thatthe subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarilylimited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, thespecific features and acts described above are disclosed as exampleforms of implementing at least some of the claims.

Many modifications may be made to the instant disclosure withoutdeparting from the scope or spirit of the claimed subject matter. Unlessspecified otherwise, “first,” “second,” or the like are not intended toimply a temporal aspect, a spatial aspect, an ordering, etc. Rather,such terms are merely used as identifiers, names, etc. for features,elements, items, etc. For example, a first channel and a second channelgenerally correspond to channel A and channel B or two different or twoidentical channels or the same channel.

Moreover, “exemplary” is used herein to mean serving as an example,instance, illustration, etc., and not necessarily as advantageous. Asused in this application, “or” is intended to mean an inclusive ^(or)rather than an exclusive “or”. In addition, “a” and “an” as used in thisapplication are generally to be construed to mean “one or more” unlessspecified otherwise or clear from context to be directed to a singularform. Also, at least one of A and B or the like generally means A or Bor both A and B. Furthermore, to the extent that “includes”, “having”,“has”, “with”, or variants thereof are used in either the detaileddescription or the claims, such terms are intended to be inclusive in amanner similar to “comprising”.

Although the disclosure has been shown and described with respect to oneor more implementations, equivalent alterations and modifications willoccur to others skilled in the art based upon a reading andunderstanding of this specification and the annexed drawings. Thedisclosure includes all such modifications and alterations and islimited only by the scope of the following claims. In particular regardto the various functions performed by the above described components(e.g., elements, resources, etc.), the terms used to describe suchcomponents are intended to correspond, unless otherwise indicated, toany component which performs the specified function (e.g., that isfunctionally equivalent), even though not structurally equivalent to thedisclosed structure. In addition, while a particular feature of thedisclosure may have been disclosed with respect to only one of severalimplementations, such feature may be combined with one or more otherfeatures of the other implementations as may be desired and/oradvantageous for any given or particular application.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system, comprising: an emitter configured totransmit light; and a detector configured to: determine a firstmeasurement of light while the emitter is not transmitting light;determine a second measurement of light, responsive to the emittertransmitting light; determine a probability that the detector is unableto discern light transmitted from the emitter from ambient light basedupon the first measurement of light and the second measurement of light;and responsive to the probability exceeding a probability threshold,determine a third measurement of light.
 2. The system of claim 1, thedetector configured to determine the third measurement of light when adifference between the first measurement of light and the secondmeasurement of light is less than a threshold.
 3. The system of claim 1,the detector configured to determine the first measurement of light at afirst time and the second measurement of light at a second time afterthe first time, wherein the emitter is not transmitting light at thefirst time and is transmitting light at the second time.
 4. The systemof claim 1, comprising a component configured to determine that thedetector is unable to discern light transmitted from the emitter fromambient light responsive to the third measurement of light indicatingthat the ambient light exceeds a brightness threshold.
 5. The system ofclaim 1, the detector associated with a transfer of merely alternatingcurrent (AC) signals while the detector is AC coupled.
 6. The system ofclaim 1, the detector associated with a transfer of alternating current(AC) signals and direct current (DC) signals while the detector is DCcoupled.
 7. The system of claim 1, comprising a component configured toenable an event responsive to determining, based upon the thirdmeasurement of light, that the detector is able to discern lighttransmitted from the emitter from ambient light.
 8. The system of claim7, the event comprising a dispense event.
 9. The system of claim 1,comprising a component configured to perform an event based upon afourth measurement of light determined by the detector.
 10. A method,comprising: determining a first measurement of light, while an emitteris not transmitting light, using a detector; determining a secondmeasurement of light, responsive to the emitter transmitting light,using the detector; and determining a third measurement of light, basedupon a comparison of the first measurement of light with the secondmeasurement of light, using the detector while the detector is directcurrent (DC) coupled.
 11. The method of claim 10, the determining athird measurement of light performed when the comparison indicates thata difference between the first measurement of light and the secondmeasurement of light is less than a threshold.
 12. The method of claim10, the determining a third measurement of light performed when thecomparison indicates that a probability that the detector is unable todiscern light transmitted from the emitter from ambient light exceeds aprobability threshold.
 13. The method of claim 10, comprising suspendingan event responsive to determining, based upon the third measurement oflight, that the detector is unable to discern light transmitted from theemitter from ambient light.
 14. The method of claim 10, comprisingenabling an event responsive to determining, based upon the thirdmeasurement of light, that the detector is able to discern lighttransmitted from the emitter from ambient light
 15. A computer readablemedium comprising instructions that when executed, perform a methodcomprising: determining a first measurement of light, while an emitteris not transmitting light, using a detector; determining a secondmeasurement of light, responsive to the emitter transmitting light,using the detector; and determining a third measurement of light, basedupon a comparison of the first measurement of light with the secondmeasurement of light, using the detector.
 16. The computer readablemedium of claim 15, the determining a first measurement of lightperformed before the determining a second measurement of light.
 17. Thecomputer readable medium of claim 15, the determining a secondmeasurement of light performed before the determining a thirdmeasurement of light.
 18. The computer readable medium of claim 15, thedetermining a first measurement of light performed before thedetermining a third measurement of light.
 19. The computer readablemedium of claim 15, the determining a third measurement of lightperformed when the comparison indicates that a difference between thefirst measurement of light and the second measurement of light is lessthan a threshold.
 20. The computer readable medium of claim 15, thedetermining a third measurement of light performed when the comparisonindicates that a probability that the detector is unable to discernlight transmitted from the emitter from ambient light exceeds aprobability threshold.